Banded butterflyfish facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Banded butterflyfish |
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Chaetodon
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| Species: |
striatus
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The banded butterflyfish (Chaetodon striatus) is a colorful fish that lives in the ocean. It's a type of butterflyfish found in the warm, tropical parts of the western Atlantic Ocean. You can find it from Brazil all the way up to Bermuda.
This fish gets its name from the dark stripes, or "bands," on its body. It also has a black stripe going through its eye. These stripes help the fish hide from predators. They make it harder for other animals to see the fish's true shape. People sometimes call it the butterbun or the school mistress.
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What Does the Banded Butterflyfish Look Like?
The banded butterflyfish can grow to be about 16 centimeters (6 inches) long. Its body is mostly silvery. It has a thin black bar that goes right through its eye.
There are also two wide black bars across the middle of its body. A third wide bar starts near its back fin and goes down to its tail. The fins on its belly and its tail fin are black.
Where Do Banded Butterflyfish Live?
This fish lives in the tropical and subtropical western Atlantic Ocean. It prefers waters that are not too deep, usually less than 20 meters (65 feet). However, it can sometimes be found as deep as 55 meters (180 feet).
Its home range stretches from Massachusetts in the United States down to Santa Catarina in Brazil. This includes the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, Bermuda, and even a tiny group of islands called Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago. These fish usually live on coral reefs, close to the ocean floor.
How Do Banded Butterflyfish Behave?
Banded butterflyfish are often seen alone or in pairs. Sometimes, you might spot them in small groups of about twenty fish. They mostly eat small invertebrates, which are animals without backbones. Their diet includes tiny crustaceans, coral polyps, and different kinds of worms and eggs.
Interestingly, these fish sometimes act like "cleaners." They will remove tiny parasites from other fish, like surgeon fishes and parrot fishes. It's like a special cleaning service for other ocean creatures!
Is the Banded Butterflyfish in Danger?
The banded butterflyfish is a common species and lives in a very large area. People sometimes catch them to keep in reef aquariums. However, this doesn't seem to harm the overall population.
Because there are so many of them, the International Union for Conservation of Nature says this fish is of "least concern". This means they are not currently in danger of disappearing.
See also
In Spanish: Pez mariposa bandado para niños
